A Sun Blog

Gator basketball news – delivered Brockway style

This much we know — Florida is slated to play Belmont at some point during the 2016-17 season. But due to the challenges of putting together the non-conference schedule around the state because of the O’Connell Center’s renovation, Florida may need to move the Belmont matchup from the season opener in Jacksonville on Nov. 11 to a current open date Nov. 21 in Tampa. Belmont released its 2016-17 non-conference schedule on its athletic website last week and currently lists the… Read More »

A pair of four-star big man prospects from the Class of 2017 are showing serious interest in Florida. Lance Thomas, 6-8, 210-pound power forward from Norcross, Ga., announced Tuesday that Florida was in his list of final four schools with Louisville, USC and Miami. Hours later, Xavier Tillman, a 6-8, 230-pound power forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., announced the Gators were one of final four schools with Michigan State, Purdue and Marquette. Tillman is the 19th ranked power forward in… Read More »

Corey Brewer always looks forward to coming back to Gainesville. Before joining his teammates for Florida’s 2006 and 2007 basketball national title reunion on Sept. 10, Brewer will be in town hosting his eighth annual Back2Back youth basketball camp from Aug. 1-3 at Buchholz High School. Signup information can be found at coreybrewer.com, Brewer’s website. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Corey Brewer Fight Diabetes Fund at the UF Diabetes Center for Excellence. I had a chance to… Read More »

Florida will get a significant test from a Big East opponent when it opens play at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando. According to a report from CBSSports.com’s Jon Rothstein, Florida will face Seton Hall in its opening tournament game on Thanksgiving Day. Other opening round games will include Gonzaga vs. Quinnipiac, Iowa State vs. Indiana State and Miami vs. Stanford. The tournament is being held at the HP Field House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Seton Hall finished… Read More »

Florida’s first full recruiting class under coach Mike White arrived on campus this week, with one notable exception. White confirmed Wednesday that 6-foot-11 center Gorjok Gak is not enrolled for Summer B classes due to an eligibility issue. Gak, a native of Australia who attended Victory Rock Prep School in Bradenton, committed to Florida last April after asking out of his letter of intent at Oklahoma State. Before speaking at a Gator Club event in Daytona Beach, White said he… Read More »

Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith has accepted a free-agent invite with the Dallas Mavericks. Finney-Smith agreed to terms to a partially-guaranteed deal and will report to the Mavericks’ summer league team in Las Vegas, according to sources. Dallas begins summer league play July 9 against the Miami Heat. Finney-Smith chose the Mavericks over two other offers from undisclosed teams. “It just came down to it feeling like the best fit, for me and my family,” Finney-Smith said. The versatile 6-foot-8 Finney-Smith… Read More »

The back-to-back champs are coming back to Gainesville. Florida will hold a reunion for its 2006-07 basketball national title teams the weekend of its home football game Sept. 10 against Kentucky. It will include an on-field salute of the team during the Florida-Kentucky game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium/Spurrier Field. Logistically, Florida had to hold the event during a football game because the majority of players are still playing professional basketball in the NBA and overseas. As a result, most… Read More »

Florida sophomore walk-on Zach Hodskins and redshirt senior forward Alex Murphy won’t be back with the Gators next season, sources close to both players confirmed Wednesday. Hodskins was an inspirational story, earning preferred walk-on status to UF despite being born with one arm rounded at the elbow. The one-handed Hodskins, who became a YouTube sensation and appeared on Good Morning America, scored his first career college points last season against Jacksonville. He is reportedly seeking more playing time at another… Read More »

Florida’s barnstorming non-conference schedule is continuing to take shape. The Gators will play St. Bonaventure in Lakeland, according to a report from the Olean (N.Y.) Times Herald. A time and date for the game has yet to be finalized, but it will take place at the 8.200-seat Lakeland Civic Center, which has served as the host site for the high school state basketball championships. In addition, according to the Associated Press’ Mark Long, Florida will host Arkansas-Little Rock in its… Read More »

Florida will face Charlotte in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise on Dec. 17, according to a source familiar to the event. Charlotte finished last season 14-19 overall and 9-9 in the Conference USA under second-year coach Mark Price, a former NBA standout guard with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game also will pit Charlotte fifth-year senior point guard Braxton Ogbueze against his former team. The 6-foot-2 Ogbueze transferred from Florida following his freshman year in 2012-13 after being unable to… Read More »

About This Blog

Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.